Apple continuing full-court press against retail unionization efforts

Apple Towson Town Center

Apple has been addressing unionization drives by discussing a host of anti-union talking points at several more of its Apple Store locations in Maryland and Virginia.

One employee who said they work at "Apple Townsend" — likely meaning Apple Towson Town Center in Maryland — said that company representatives recently gave anti-union talking points, including the fact that a union could slow down schedule changes and that recent pay raises were not the result of unionization efforts.

Apple Addressing Townsend Unionization at Download Today!

Before starting it was made VERY CLEAR we could leave at any time and was under no obligation to listen to this part of the download

Key Talking points:

- Talked About Townsend and how nothing has changed so far.
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— Pulled from Repair (@PulledfrmRepair) August 18, 2022

AppleInsider has confirmed the location and timing of the efforts in Towson, Maryland.

Meanwhile, about 70 miles down I-95, Apple has also been holding anti-union meetings at Apple Reston in Virginia, one staffer told AppleInsider in an email. The employee said Apple Market Leaders came to the store and used the closure of recent unionized Starbucks stores as a negative example of union pushes. We were also able to confirm these meetings through other sources.

There has been a growing effort to unionize, both at Apple retail locations and at other companies.

An Apple Store in Atlanta, Georgia was the first retail location to organize earlier in 2022. Since then, retail locations in Kentucky, New York City, and elsewhere have also made similar moves.

This is not the first time that Apple has made moves to counter unionization efforts.

Deirdre O'Brien, Apple's chief of retail and people, has pushed back against the union pushes, saying that the relationship between Apple and its employees could be "fundamentally changed" under unionization.

Apple was also said to be circulating anti-union talking points to store mangers earlier in May. In April, it hired lawyers known for busting unions.

Union organizers across Apple's retail footprint say that pay has fallen below living wages in many markets, including Atlanta.

There has been a growing movement to unionize, both at Apple and elsewhere. Many Starbucks stores are moving to unionize and have faced retaliation from the company. Amazon warehouse workers also voted to become the first union at the retail giant earlier in 2022.

Unionization efforts have also gained support from both customers and public figures. Back in June, President Joe Biden congratulated Apple workers in Maryland for voting to join a union, saying he was "proud of them."

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29 Comments

davgreg

said about 1 year ago

Unions are poison.
Apple should go to court and challenge the Wagner Act itself. That would finish off unions in the US.

verne arase

said about 1 year ago

Huh.

Gotta say, I've never been in a union and have never been terribly pro-union.

My dad worked as a pharmacist for Walgreens and when they were unionizing they threatened to break his legs if he didn't join.

My dad resisted and Walgreens actually made him part of the management team to isolate him from the threats. Not sure if they gave him management duties or elevated his pay, but I think the objective was just to remove him from that sphere of vulnerability.

A lot of things that happen to your family color your perception - for instance I was a staunch republican because my parents moved to the midwest to avoid being put in a prison camp (they called them internment camps) in California. Even J. Edgar at first refused to have the FBI round up the Japanese, but was told by Roosevelt he'd simply find someone else who would do it.

Of course, once Trump was elected (I sat out that election) it cured me of that staunch republicanism - especially now that the GOP's gone flat out batshit crazy.

acejax805

said about 1 year ago

Seems people's love for Apple is clouding their "workers rights" ideologies. If this were any other company, a different toon may be singing.

hypoluxa

said about 1 year ago

JP234 said:

Have unions gone too far? In some cases, definitely. But ask yourself, "self, why are there unions in the first place?" There's only one answer: Corporations exploiting their own workers, denying them basic human rights, and refusing to pay sustainable wages. You want to prevent your workers from unionizing? All you have to do is listen to them, and let them know they're heard. Then just do the right thing.

I've been a union worker (IBEW Chicago local 134). And I've been a non-union worker (countless lousy, dead end jobs). I also owned a non-union printing business. My employees never saw the need to organize, because I treated them with respect, dignity and generous compensation. In return, they busted their asses for me.

Let me just say this about unions: If it weren't for them, everyone who is reading this article would be working 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. You'd be living in a company town, being paid in company scrip instead of cash. That scrip would only be usable at the company store, where you would pay for all the equipment you need for your job, your food, your household goods, your uniforms, your family's clothes, and your rent. At the end of the week, you'd owe the company store more than you earned. But they'd be willing to carry you for a "reasonable" interest charge, as long as you continue to work for them.

In effect you'd be what they call a "wage slave." If you haven't read the great Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" it's time you cracked a book. If you don't like reading, watch the great John Sayles movie, "Matewan," the true story of `the miserable lives of coal miners in West Virginia and the violence they were subjected to at the hands of the Pinkerton Security Agency when trying to organize, paid for by the mine owners in collusion with the state government. You've probably seen "Norma Rae" with Sally Field.

I'd second that sentiment. Have some unions over-stepped their lines, sure. But like you said, nobody wants to be exploited by their employer. If companies would stop paying their top 1% of staff ginormous amounts of $ for admin work and pay the actual on-the-floor-and in-the-weeds-workers better in some cases, maybe unions wouldn't be needed. I can see the argument for a maximum wage in these cases.